


Reminiscing

by persephinae



Category: Ghost of Tsushima (Video Game)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:34:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27852618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/persephinae/pseuds/persephinae
Summary: Jin encounters something he can't explain
Relationships: Jin Sakai & Yuna, Jin Sakai/Yuna
Comments: 6
Kudos: 37





	Reminiscing

**Author's Note:**

> I encountered this in the game and it sparked the idea for a story :3
> 
> Jin's had a very stressful time and honestly, he deserves a vacation

Jin patted Kaze as he sat in the saddle and surveyed the area. He was supposed to meet Yuna by the old fox tree near Kaneda Inlet, but he had stopped to rest for a moment as he had been riding for most of the morning. Jin shifted in the saddle and was about to step down to stretch his legs, when he spied a few Mongol stragglers harassing some peasants down the road. He sighed and kicked Kaze into a gallop as they raced down the road to assist.   
Not even stopping to dismount, Jin jumped from Kaze as soon as he was near enough and brought his katana down hard upon the straggler, cutting deep into the meat between the soldier's neck and shoulder. He used to dying man as a buffer for his fall, rolling as momentum caught up to his strike, then quickly freed his sword. One peasant managed to run away, while the other was trying to run from the remaining Mongol.   
Jin quickly raced towards the other straggler and struck him across the back to slow him down, then quickly pivoted to the front and used the Mongol's disoriented pain as an opportunity to quickly slash across his throat. The Mongol collapsed in the sandy brush, gasping as he died.  
Jin flicked the blood from his katana on the ground, then quickly sheathed his sword. He turned towards the peasants to check to see if they were unhurt, however they both had wandered away almost in a daze. He supposed that maybe the trauma of being harassed by invaders then seeing all the bloodshed as he rescued them might have addled them a bit. Not everyone was cut out for war or bloodshed. Sometimes Jin thought maybe even he was not cut out for war. He tired of the senselessness and violence. Komoda never left his dreams, and he constantly dreamt of the ones he couldn't save, their outstretched hands and dying voices crying out from the blood tinged darkness of his nightmares. The only thing that helped drive away the darkness was having Yuna nearby at night. She soothed him in ways that he didn't think she'd understand. She was a light in the darkness, a home port in a sea of storms. He sighed at the thought of her then turned back to talk to the peasants so he could continue on his journey.  
But they were gone.   
He blinked to make sure he wasn't mistaken, then turned around again to survey the entire sandy inlet. Maybe they had run while he was daydreaming? He half jogged for a minute trying to see where they could have gone, scanning the sand for footprints, but there were none. None except his own. He blinked and half shook his head as he tried to understand. His brow furrowed and he turned back towards the fork in the road.   
The Mongol bodies were still there, but perhaps the peasants had simply ran for their lives back towards the woods near the beach? But that didn't explain why he saw no tracks. If they had run with all their might, their tracks would have been even clearer to see as their weight would have disturbed more of the wet sand. Jin walked towards the old fox tree in confusion as he waited for Yuna, and saw Castle Kaneda in the distance overlooking the bay. His heart turned with wistful melancholy as he thought about his uncle. He supposed it was like looking back at an idyllic childhood that he could never revisit. He missed his uncle. He missed his strong presence, his rare kind smiles, and the gruff awkward love that his uncle gave to Jin. Thinking about what was lost invariably also brought on other losses and sorrows. Jin closed his eyes and sighed. There were so many he had lost in his life, so much that he also felt lost without them. But he used the pain and let it ground him to what was real.  
Jin heard someone walking behind him and glanced backwards to see Yuna.  
"Jin!"  
Jin turned to her, giving her his full attention as she drew near. Already the sight of her calmed and soothed him, drowning out his fears and anxieties.   
"Yuna, I'm glad you made it. Did you run into any trouble on the way?"  
Yuna waved her hand as to swipe at the thought and replied, "No, I was lucky. It was pretty clear the whole way."  
When she got close enough she cocked her head as she looked him over. She reached over and gently traced his brow then cupped his face. He closed his eyes and leaned into it, reaching up with his own hand to hold her hand there. He loved her so much, he didn't know what he would do if anything happened to her. He quickly blocked all negative thoughts before the anxiety and worry could bubble up and take hold, then breathed out and kissed the side of her hand.   
Yuna smiled, then reached forward with her other hand, caressing his cheek, then putting both hands behind his head as she leaned forward to kiss him. Jin made a guttural noise of pleasure and deepened the kiss, which she gladly met.   
After a minute or two of kissing, he sighed and broke the kiss, then kissed her one last time for good measure.  
"I missed you, Yuna."  
Yuna smiled again and replied, "I see."  
She kissed his cheek for her own comfort, then stood back to hold his hands in her own warm hands.  
"You look tired, Jin. Are you ok?"  
Jin's brows furrowed as he looked down at their entwined hands. He wasn't sure if he wiped all the blood of his hands (he felt he never would) and didn't want to dirty Yuna's hands. But he saw that they were clean so perhaps he did? But then he noticed that his armor was clean too. That.. can't be.. right?  
"Jin?"  
"I.."  
Jin turned back towards the road, saw both their horses standing by the lantern at the fork in the road. But the bodies were gone.  
"That can't be right."  
Yuna tugged on his hand, slightly worried, pulling him back to her.  
"What can't be right, Jin? What's wrong?"  
Jin glanced at her, really puzzled and slightly worried now, then glanced again towards where the bodies should be.   
He began walking towards the spot, Yuna's hand still in his own. She followed but was worried as well.  
"What are we looking for?"  
Jin stopped at the right spot and began looking for some kind of physical evidence of his battle. He reluctantly let go of her hand as he knelt down to inspect the grass and road.  
"There was.. two peasants being chased by two Mongols."  
Completely perplexed, he circled the area, looking for impressions in the grass, blood, discarded weapons, anything. But there was nothing.   
As he looked around in increasing agitation, he added, "I was riding Kaze near here, saw them being harassed, and raced over to stop them. I wanted to stop them in time, before the Mongols killed them like the others. I jumped off Kaze, killed the first one.. here."  
Jin motioned as if he was holding his katana and killing the Mongol again.  
"I then rolled and dislodged my katana from the body. There should be heavy scuff marks here. And blood. Lots of blood. And a body?"  
He then stalked over to the second spot, pantomiming as he explained again.  
"I struck the second one in the back, here. Then pivoted to slice him again. There should be tracks, and signs of a struggle. There should be even more blood. I cut his throat."  
He then turned to Yuna, bewildered.   
"I saw the peasants wandering away, almost dazed. I was lost in thought for a moment, but when I looked up again they were gone. I thought maybe than had ran towards the forest over there toward the hills, but there were no signs of tracks then either. They were just there one moment, and gone the next."  
He walked back to Yuna, gazing at the where he killed the Mongols one last time.  
"I saw the bodies though. They were there, even after the peasants had disappeared."  
He turned to Yuna, reiterating, "They were there, Yuna."  
Yuna took his hand in hers, as she gazed at him, just as confused.  
"But there's no blood on your armor, Jin."  
Jin shook his head, but acknowledged it, "I noticed when I was kissing you. But they were there. I don't understand."  
He looked at her again, lost and worried.   
"I saved them, they were there."  
Yuna put her worry aside, and gripped his hand in hers, acknowledging his confusion and feelings. She didn't dare try to caress his face like she wanted to, he might take that as pity or condescending. Jin wouldn't lie to her, and he was genuinely confused and worried.  
"I believe you, Jin."  
"I don't... I don't understand. It feels like a prank, but there's no way someone could pull such a prank."  
Yuna looked around herself, noticing the pillars in the distance behind them. Mongols had tied up peasants to wooden beams and left them for the tide and hunger to consume.  
She sighed at the cruelty, then turned towards Jin, who was looking at the castle again.  
"I know you don't want to hear this, but maybe you imagined it, Jin. You haven't been getting enough sleep and you work yourself to the bone trying to save all of Tsushima yourself, you know."  
Jin snapped out of whatever thoughts he was dwelling on to reply back to her, frowning slightly.  
"I don't think I imagined it. It was very real."  
Yuna tightened her hands around his, in comfort for both him and herself, then stepped closer. She didn't want to argue with him, but she had no answers. She leaned against him, putting her head on his shoulder and Jin automatically put his arm around her, with no hesitation or thought about not doing so. She belonged next to him and he was more than happy to oblige.   
They both knew he wasn't angry at her, not at all, but he was frustrated and confused.  
Jin kissed her cheek to convey that to her, and she swayed in his embrace, happy and acknowledging the thought as well.  
Yuna huffed a half laugh, trying to lighten the mood, "Maybe it was ghosts. There's been more than enough violence to have enough ghosts for five hundred years. There's bodies of villagers tied up over there on the beach for the Mongol's cruelty. Maybe it was some of them."  
She felt the tension leave Jin as he scoffed at her reply.  
"I don't believe in ghosts! Or demons, or kappa! Ry.. Ryuzo teased me mercilessly when we were children. He soon cured any belief in ghosts after he tried to scare me so many times."  
Yuna put her arm around his back, hugging him, then rubbing his back. She knew it was painful to talk about his childhood friend, his betrayal had gutted Jin, which was compounded by his uncle turning him over to the Shogun's men. She also knew that he needed to mourn and talk about his feelings and memories. She knew bottling up your pain only hurt you and those around you. She wanted to give him the comfort and understanding she had needed when she had been in pain.  
Smiling gently, Yuna asked, "What did Ryuzo try to do?"  
"What **_didn't_** he try to do! He was always getting us into trouble! But specifically, one summer, he decided he was going to scare me and the Adachi boys by being a ghost with his throat cut! He had waited til we fell asleep, then took some rice flour from the kitchen and smeared it all over himself, then took some pig's blood from the hog we had just butchered and painted his throat and hands. He then crept towards our makeshift leanto in the back courtyard and woke us up screaming like he had just been murdered. We ran towards the Sakai cemetery, which was actually a stupid idea now that I think about it, and one of the Adachi's was crying for his mother."  
Yuna laughed and clung against Jin in helpless laughter, this was something she would have done to Taka or one of the village children.  
"Are you sure it wasn't _you_ , crying?"  
"I was not crying! I think it was Yasunari, if you _must_ know. But I had quit running and decided to fight the ghost. I put up my fists and yelled for the ghost to face me if he wasn't a coward. But as the ghost came closer, moaning dramatically, I saw that it was only Ryuzo. So I punched him in his laughing face!"  
Yuna laughed harder at the story and slapped his chest in merriment.  
Jin continued, "We were both pummeling each other by the time Yuriko came rushing out with some servants and candles to see what all the fuss was about. My father was howling with laughter, it was one of the few times I saw him laugh since my mother died. I forgave Ryuzo for scaring us, because of my father's laugh. Yuriko scolded the both Ryuzo and myself, while comforting Yasunari and Shigesato as they came out of hiding. I told Yuriko what Ryuzo had done. It was his fault! But she scolded me too for roughhousing and resorting to violence against a guest."  
Yuna laughed again as Jin snorted against the long ago slight.  
"Yuriko made a servant hold Ryuzo as they dumped water on Ryuzo to get the blood and flour off. She then ordered him down to the lake to finish washing and he was to come right back when finished. And he obeyed. She put the fear of the kami in him and didn't dare disobey lest he suffer her wrath. When he was clean, they gave him a fresh shirt, then made him stand next to the door holding a bucket of water for an hour. Then she made me go clean the gravestones again. Again!! I had just cleaned them the week before and she made me clean them again because of Ryuzo!"  
Jin growled at the long ago injustice and Yuna just laughed. It felt good to reminisce like this. She could almost picture the scene as he told it, and she wished she had been there too. She would have joined Ryuzo in scaring everyone though.  
Still laying her head against his shoulder, she confessed to Jin, "If I had been there, I would have joined Ryuzo in his mischief. I would have been a ghost too, or made myself a kappa costume with reeds. I used to pull the same mischief back in Yarikawa when I was little."  
Jin chuckled at the picture she presented, and wistfully wished she had been there as well. She would have gotten them into twice the amount of trouble, but his childhood wouldn't have been so lonely when the other boys were away. She would have been a great childhood friend, and it would have been a kinder fate. But then, life never works out the way anyone wants, you could only deal with what you've been given.  
He sighed in contentment and squeezed her gently in his arms. At least he had this now. This was good.  
Yuna turned her head up to kiss him on his cheek again, then regretfully disengaged from his embrace. She took his hand and led him back to the horses.  
"Come on, Jin. I brought the buckets. Let's catch some crabs for dinner, then we can set up camp for the night. There's an onsen nearby too!"  
Jin gave a rare laugh and let himself be dragged along, dropping his worries by the tree. He had his Yuna, and soon they would be eating delicious crab. He smiled and walked faster, gently swinging his arm with hers in happiness.  
Long after they were gone, a voice spoke, "Well, weren't they sweet. What a nice young man."  
A second voice, replied, "Very nice. Not many people would stop to rescue another. Poor man, I think we confused him quite a bit."  
The first voice, snapped back a little testily, "Well, I didn't ask to be murdered by barbarians, yet here we are. If I could spit, I would curse them and their ancestors for three generations. The dogs."  
The second voice snorted, but was well used to his wife's temperament, even in death. "There there. At least this time we weren't murdered again. This time we were able to walk away."  
The first voice, replied wistfully as they faded again, "And at least this one was handsome and kind. His wife was very nice too. I wish them well."


End file.
